Modular personal container

ABSTRACT

A modular personal container has a stiff container shaped to receive and support a soft container in the preferred configuration of a tool belt. Both containers provide correspondingly shaped fixating and positioning features. The fixating features interlock the soft container with the stiff container. The interlocked soft container is then lowered down onto the stiff container until positioning edges of the soft container contact positioning shoulders of the stiff container. Pockets laterally protruding from the stiff container provide the positioning shoulders. A shoulder belt may be simultaneously snapped on lugs individually attached on both containers. A loose hip belt of the assembled soft container is packed away in a belt pocket recessed from a smooth rear side of the stiff container. The stiff container has a handgrip and a top lid for accessing a storage volume of the stiff container with or without the soft container being attached.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to a modular personal container thatincludes a soft container and a correspondingly shaped stiff container.More particularly, the invention relates to a personal container havinga soft container that is configured to be ergonomically andself-supportedly carried at a person's waist area and having the stiffcontainer configured to receive and support the soft container when itis not carried by the person.

[0003] 2. Discussion of the Related Art

[0004] Personal containers are available in various configurationsadapted to suit specific tasks. For example, a prior art personalcontainer may be configured to be carried at a person's waist area. Suchcontainers are commonly known as tool belts that may have enlarged bagand/or pocked like structures integrated into a belt. The enlargedstructures may be shaped to receive, organize and/or store, for example,hand tools or other items. Tool belts are usually shaped to be wornaround the waist area with the enlarged structure hanging down and beingsupported by the person's hip such that the stored items can beergonomically accessed on an ongoing base.

[0005] Tool belts are commonly made of soft material in order to providea clinging fit and to adjust to a hip shape and hip movements of theperson wearing the tool belt. Also, in order to provide easy access tothe stored items, the storing features are preferably designed withopenings against the direction of gravity for a sufficiently uprightwearing position of the person.

[0006] Unfortunately, once a tool belt is taken off, it does notmaintain it's shape, which makes it eventually difficult to put it awayor store the tool belt while it is not worn. The softer a tool belt isconfigured, the more wearing comfort it provides but the less feasibleit becomes to be stored at a locations other then a persons waist/hiparea. Therefore, there exists a need for a device that has a stiff shapecorresponding to the shape of a soft personal container such that thesoft personal container can be properly stored while not used. Thepresent invention addresses this need.

[0007] Personal containers may also be simultaneously used for diversetransportation and storage tasks. Many practical endeavors require asignificant load being carried over a longer distance to an activitysite. Once the activity site is reached, only a part of the carried loadhas to remain immediately accessible, whereas a remaining portion of thecarried load only needs to be accessed occasionally. An immediatelyaccessible container may be a soft container as described in the above.In order to provide occasionally accessed storage space, a second stiffcontainer is commonly carried to the activity site.

[0008] Since tool belts commonly hamper walking, a person may tend tocarry the tool belt and the stiff container simultaneously, one in eachhand, which reduces the person's agility. During unsafe walks toactivity site like, for example, a construction site, it may benecessary to have at least one hand free. Therefore, there exists a needfor a soft container and a correspondingly shaped stiff container suchthat they can be assembled and carried along one body side as a singleunit. The present invention addresses this need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] In accordance with the present invention, a modular personalcontainer provides a soft container preferably configured to beergonomically worn at a hip area of a person. The ergonomicconfiguration includes a softness and a tailored contour that provide aclinging fit to the person's hip area. The modular personal containerfurther provides a stiff container that is shaped to receive and supportthe soft container on the circumference of the stiff container. Thestiff container provides fixating features and positioning features thatcorrespond to features of the soft container such that the softcontainer can be easily lowered down and fixated on the stiff container.Fixating features may include catch and/or snap fittings correspondinglyplaced on both containers. This allows the soft container to beinterlocked with a simple two-hand motion. Once the two containers areinterlocked, the soft container may be further lowered down onto thestiff container until the positioning features contact correspondinglytailored edges of the soft container. Once the soft container is fixatedonto the stiff container a shoulder belt may be snapped on lugs of bothcontainers.

[0010] The stiff container may have a circumference that issignificantly smaller than a person's waist. Consequently, a remaininghip belt of the soft container may be folded into a correspondinglyshaped belt pocket after the soft container has been attached to thestiff container.

[0011] A central storage volume of the stiff container remainsaccessible via a top lid. The soft container has an upper tailor linethat is shaped such that a locking feature of the top lid, for example azip, remains accessible while the soft container is fixated on the stiffcontainer. The stiff container may further have a handgrip. At thehandgrip, the stiff container may be carried alone or together with theeventually attached soft container. The shoulder belt may also beindependently used to carry only one of the two containers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0012]FIG. 1 shows a three dimensional view of an exemplary softcontainer in assembly approach to an exemplary stiff container.

[0013]FIG. 2 shows a three dimensional view of the assembled containers.

[0014]FIG. 3 shows a three dimensional view of the soft container wornby a person.

[0015]FIG. 4 shows a side view of the assembled containers.

[0016]FIG. 5 shows a front view of the assembled containers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Referring to the drawings in general and FIG. 1 in particular, asoft container 1 is shown approaching a stiff container 18 in assemblydirection 26. It is noted that the scope of the invention is not limitedto a particular procedure by which the soft container 1 and the stiffcontainer 18 are assembled. Moreover, the assembly direction 26 issolely presented for the purpose of general understanding without anyclaim of the accuracy thereof. In the context of the present invention,the term “soft container” applies to any container having a softness toprovide a clinging fit to a person wearing the soft container 1. In thecontext of the present invention, the term “stiff container” applies toany container having a stiffness that is at a level such that the stiffcontainer 18 maintains its shape while standing free.

[0018] The soft container 1 includes a pliant body 20 from which twopliant flaps 22 extend. At least at one end of the pliant flaps 22extends a belt 5, which can be closed with the belt loop 4 attached atthe end of the other pliant flap 22. It is clear to one skilled in theart that many varying configurations of a belt 5 and a belt loop 4 maybe utilized within the scope of the invention.

[0019] Referring to FIG. 3, the soft container 1 is preferably tailoredand/or shaped to provide a clinging fit to a hip area 42 of a person 40wearing the soft container 1. The soft container 1 may be worn by havingthe belt 5 entangle the opposing hip 43 such that the pliant body 20clings to the hip area 42 down along the thigh 41. Additional supportmay be provided by a shoulder strap 3 that may be snapped on primarylugs 27 of the soft container 1. One primary lug 27 is attached on eachof the pliant flaps 22. It is noted that in FIGS. 1 and 3 only one ofthe primary lugs 27 is visible. It is clear to one skilled in the artfrom studying FIGS. 1 and 3 that the invisible primary lug 27 may bepositioned at any location suitable for attaching the shoulder strap 3.The shoulder strap 3 may have on each end a strap buckle 6 for attachingthe shoulder strap 3.

[0020] The soft container 1 may have a number of pockets that areergonomically arranged to store and/or stack various items like, forexample, hand tools and the like. In the preferred embodiment, the softcontainer 1 has a top pocket line 25, a medium pocket line 23, and abottom pocket line 24. The pocket lines 23, 24, 25 have their openingessentially against the direction of gravity to prevent items fromfalling out of the pockets while the soft container 1 is worn by theperson 40.

[0021] The outside contours of the soft container 1 are defined by theupper tailored edge 8, the flap edge 9 and the bag edge 10. Both theupper edge 8 and the flap edge 9 start at the outer ends of the pliantflaps 22 with an initial direction that is almost parallel with thedirection of the belt 5. The upper edge 8 forms a smooth arc between thetwo ends of the pliant flaps 22. The flap edge 9 curves into the bagedge 10, which forms together with the flap edge 9 an obtuse angle. Dueto the shapes of the edges 8, 9 and 10, the soft container 1 may be madefrom soft material without wrinkling under load.

[0022] The pocket edge 7 continues approximately in the direction of theflap edge 9. The pocket edge 7 defines the opening of the medium pocketline 23. The pocket edge 7 has also a smooth curvature to preventwrinkling of the medium pocket line 23, which has a continuous aperturealong the pliant body 20. Regardless of the exemplary illustrations ofthe pocket lines 23, 24, 25, it is clear that the scope of the inventionmay include various configurations of pockets as they are well known fortool belts and the like.

[0023] Referring back to FIG. 1, the pliant flaps 22 may additionallyprovide at their inside male catches 2. It is noted that only the rearmale catch 2 is visible in FIG. 1. A second male catch 2 has to beconsidered on the corresponding location of the opposing pliant flap 22.The male catches 2 are flat and chubby devices that protrude onlyslightly away from the inner surface of the pliant flaps 22. The malecatches 2 are shaped to keep the pressure onto the belly of the person40 at a low level and evenly distributed while the soft container 1 isworn by the person 40. The male catches 2 fit into correspondinglyshaped female catches 13 positioned on opposing sides of the stiffcontainer 18. It is noted that only the front female catch 13 is visiblein FIG. 1. A second female catch 13 has to be considered on thecorresponding location of the opposing side of the stiff container 18.The male catches 2 are easily interlocked with the female catches 13 andthus provide fixating features that provide for an easily establishedinitial interlocking between the containers 1, 18.

[0024] According to FIG. 1, the stiff container 18 has a top lid 21 thatcontacts the stiff container 18 along a circumferential edge 19. In thepreferred embodiment, the circumferential edge 19 is at least partiallyoccupied by a zipper that secures the top lid 21 in a closed position. Ahandgrip 11 may also be attached on the top of the stiff container 18.The handgrip 11 has preferably a rubber grip. The handgrip 11 issufficiently soft to give room for opening the top lid 21.

[0025] The stiff container 18 has shoulder pockets 17 laterallyextending from two opposing vertical sides of the stiff container 18(see also FIG. 5). The shoulder pockets 17 operate with their flapshoulder 14 and their bag shoulder 16 also as positioning features thatassist in keeping the soft container 1 in a fixed position whileattached to the stiff container 18. In assembled configuration, wherethe male catches 2 interlock with their corresponding female catches 13and gravity forces the soft container 1 downwards, the flap edges 9cling on the flap shoulders 14 and the bag edges 10 cling on the bagshoulders 16 (see FIGS. 2, 4, 5). The shoulders 14, 16 are positioningshoulders which may be provided by any structure laterally protrudingfrom said stiff container 18.

[0026] Adjacent to the female catches 13 are on both sides of the stiffcontainer 18 secondary lugs 12. The secondary lugs 12 are positionedsuch that the strap buckles 6 may be simultaneously snapped on theprimary lugs 27 and the secondary lugs 12. As a result, the shoulderstrap 3 may be directly attached and secured to both containers 1, 18(see also FIG. 2).

[0027] According to FIG. 2 and the preferred embodiment of theinvention, the soft container 1 is attached with and positioned on thestiff container 18 where the male catches 2 interlock with thecorresponding female catches 13 and where the edges 9, 10 rest on thecorresponding shoulders 14, 16. In that case, the upper edge 8 isessentially parallel and offset to the circumferential edge 19 such thatthe zipper attached along the circumferential edge 19 can be freelyaccessed. The soft container remains also in a sufficient distance froma surface on which the stiff container 18 may be standing on. In theassembled configuration, the pliant flaps 22 and the pliant body 20 arealso in a clinging fit with the outside of the stiff container 18. Thepocket zips 15 (see also FIG. 5) remain free and provide access to theinterior of the shoulder pockets 17.

[0028] In order to prevent the belt 5 from loosely hanging away from theassembled containers 1, 18, the stiff container 18 has a belt pocket 28(see also FIG. 4). After the soft container 1 has been fixated on thestiff container 18, the belt 5 may be folded into the belt pocket 28.The belt pocket 28 may provide at least one lateral opening throughwhich the belt 5 may be guided without wrinkling into the belt pocket28. Referring to FIG. 4, the belt pocket 28 may be recessed from asmooth face 29 such that the assembled containers 1, 18 or the stiffcontainer 18 alone can be carried at the side of a person with thesmooth face 29 being in smooth contact with a body portion of thecarrying person. It is clear to one skilled in the art that the scope ofthe present invention is not limited to any particular configurationand/or number of storage structures and/or pockets of the container 18.In the preferred embodiment, the containers 1, 18 are made frommaterials including Velcro. The stiffness of the stiff container 18 isprovided by stiff structures embedded between layers of Velcro.

[0029] While this invention has been described with reference to thespecific embodiments disclosed herein, it is not confined to the detailsset forth and the patent is intended to include modifications andchanges, which may come within and extend from the following claims:

What is claimed is
 1. A modular personal container comprising: a. a softcontainer having a softness and having a tailored contour to provide aclinging fit to a body contour of a person, said soft containercomprising: i. a primary fixating feature; and ii. a positioning edge;b. a stiff container comprising: i. a secondary fixating featurecorresponding to said primary fixating feature, said secondary featureproviding an interlocking with said soft container; ii. a positioningshoulder corresponding to said positioning edge such that said softcontainer is fixated in an assembly position while interlocking via saidfixating features; and iii. a stiffness for receiving and supportingsaid soft container while said soft container being fixated in saidassembly position.
 2. The modular container of claim 1, wherein saidstiff container is further shaped to stand unsupported.
 3. The modularcontainer of claim 1, wherein said stiff container is further shaped tostand unsupported while said soft container is assembled with said stiffcontainer.
 4. The modular container of claim 1, wherein said stiffcontainer further comprises a handgrip.
 5. The modular container ofclaim 1, wherein said soft container is a tool belt configured to beworn around a hip area of said person.
 6. The modular container of claim1, further comprising a shoulder strap.
 7. The modular container ofclaim 6, further comprising: a. a primary lug attached on said softcontainer; b. a secondary lug attached on said stiff container; whereinsaid lugs are attached on positions such that in said assembly positionsaid primary lug and of said secondary lug are simultaneously accessibleby a strap buckle of said shoulder strap.
 8. The modular container ofclaim 1, wherein said positioning shoulder is provided by a lateralprotrusion laterally protruding from said stiff container.
 9. Themodular container of claim 8, wherein said lateral protrusion is apocket.
 10. The modular container of claim 1, wherein said stiffcontainer further comprises a belt pocket for receiving and storing abelt of said soft container.
 11. The modular container of claim 10,wherein said belt pocket is recessed from a smooth face of said stiffcontainer.
 12. The modular container of claim 1, wherein said stiffcontainer further comprises a top lid that contacts a main body of saidstiff container along a contacting circumference while said top lid isclosed.
 13. The modular container of claim 12, wherein said contactingcircumference is shaped in correspondence with an upper tailor line ofsaid soft container being in said assembly position such that at least afirst portion of said contacting circumference is in a continuousdistance to at least a second portion of said tailor line.
 14. Themodular container of claim 13, wherein said first portion is occupied bya zipper for securing said top lid in a closed position and wherein saidcontinuous distance is selected to provide free access to said zipper.